Bachus, I think you have partly answered your question when you say "you just take a style that sounds good with the song". (and also what John said).
That is an important part of this topic, to do what feels good to you, and that will most times feel good to others.
There is no "one size fits all" in this case, many styles and sounds can give a good result.
Example, i have three different registrations saved for Fly Me To The Moon. One is slow Latin, another is mid big band, and another is fast jazz trio, (piano drums and bass),all tweaked to my liking, and I enjoy playing all three, depending on my mood at the time.

Ray

What defines the different musical styles..
What are the essential differences between a slow-wals, an english wals and a vienna wals?

Quick step, 2 step... ?

So preferably i would like some good literature about this...


Thanks for listening to

Thats what i love to do.. most of the time with greatresults ... but
Thats not what i am looking for..

I am looking for the musicall theory behind these musical styles/rhytms..

Some are obvious, like 8beat vs 16beat..
but what defines a foxtrot?
Where does a slow waltz differ from an English wals?

Maybe i am to much of a techhead, allways looking for thetheory behind things..

I think Bachus is after how the style is made up and to how it was created rather than choosing a suitable style to match, (Which he already does) which is explained in the link I posted, (AS well as the books mentioned) however Rikkis idea of recording the style from the arranger to see what makes it, is also a good idea.
I have attached a simple demo below

Bill

Hi Bachus,

I don't really think there is a theoretical answer as such in relation to how you choose a style in which to play a particular piece of music.

All the different styles you mention such as Viennese waltz come from various times throughout history. For example a quick search reveals the Viennsese Waltz originated in the 18th century and is played at approxiately 180 bpm while an English or slow waltz is played at approximatley 90 bpm. It would appear that the slow waltz was first danced around the 1920's. Likewise you can look at Rock and Roll that originated around the late 1940's all the way up to present day Edm styles.

Personally l think one of the most helpful factors that would help to determine which style, would be how the composer of the original piece of music actually wrote the piece and the time period it came from. Apart from that, what everyone else has already stated is it's really down to personal choice, as there are probably numerous styles that would suit an individual piece of music. One piece of music that springs to mind that I like to play is, Somewhere my love. l've played it in an Andre Rieu Viennese waltz style, slow waltz, 12/8 and a medium swing style. All of them work in different ways, so for me there is really no roght or wrong, basically just go with the flow with whatever you think sounds right and enjoy playing.

Kind regards,

Russ